Pressure applying pad



S. J. FINN PRESSURE APPLYING PAD Dec. 22, 1936.

Filed July 19, 1934 JTM Patented Dec. 22, 1936 FFIC rarissimi: ArrLviNGPAD Application .luly 19, 1934, Serial No. 735,920

16 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in pads -for use in applyingpressure to shoe bottoms and is illustrated herein as embodied in a padparticularly adapted for use in cement attaching soles to shoes.

Most of the machines in use today for cement attaching soles to shoesutilize some form of pad for pressing the sole against the shoe bottom.Many of these pads comprise hollow vessels or bags containing iiuid, forexample air or Water, and provided with flexible sole-engaging Wallswhich conform substantially to the longitudinal contour of a shoebottom, the outer surfaces of these walls being distorted by the soleand shoe when the latter are pressed against the pad. The sole-engagingwalls or" pads of the types referred to are usually composed of acomposition of rubber and their ilexibility is practically the samethroughout their entire areas since the walls are supported against thepressure of the sole and shoe only by air or water. While this uniformiiexibility is satisfactory for some types of shoes it is not sodesirable when operating, for example, upon a shoe in which the outsoleat the forepart is to be relatively dat while the sole margins at Atheshank portion are to be wrapped closely about the upper to produce aclose tting shank. Under suchcircumstances it is advantageous to havethe flexibility of the sole-engaging Wall vary somewhat at differentportions of the pad in order to apply only a limited pressure to thoseparts of the shoe bottom which it is desired to maintain in a atcondition while applying a substantially greater pressure to portionsWhich are to be wrapped closely about the shoe upper. Such aconstruction prevents, for example, excessive rounding of the solemargins at the forepart and heel portions of the shoe-and yet permitsthe margins at the shank to be rolled or wrapped about the shoe upper asmuch as may be required to produce a close fitting shank.

When a sole and shoe are pressed against a yielding surface such as thesole-engaging Wall of a flexible pad there is a tendency for the shoe totilt or roll sidewise toward the inside of the shoe on account of thegreater bottom area of the shoe at the outside of the forepart. It willbe seen that if the exibility of the sole-engaging wall is substantiallythe same throughout its entire area this condition cannot be overcomeWithout the aid of means independent of the pad itself for holding theshoe upright as it is pressed into the yielding surface of the pad.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved pad ofsuch a character that objectionable wrapping of the sole margins aboutthe sho-e upper at the iorepart and heel portions of the shoe will beeliminated without reducing the desired wrapping eiiect at its shankportion. A further object is the provision of a pad which will 5 preventtilting or rolling of the shoe and sole sidevvise during thesolepressing operation.

To the attainment 1of these objects there is provided, as hereinillustrated, a pressure-applying pad having a cellular forepart filledwith relatively fluent material such as sand adapted to lock or becomeset under pressure, and a fluidlled shank portion, the heel portion ofthe pad being solid and relatively inflexible. This heel portion ispreferably composed of solid relatively resilient material such asrubber composition which is relatively hard and iniiexible and whichwill not be displaced or distorted any substantial amount by a sole andshoe under sole-attaching pressure. The cellular forepart and the solidheel portion of the pad cannot be distorted any great amount even underconsiderable pressure. Consequently there will be practically no bulgingof the sole-engaging wall of the pad adjacent to the sole margins atthese portions of the shoe and 25 therefore no wrapping of the marginsabout the upper' at such portions. The iluid-l'llled shank portion, onthe other hand, is relatively flexible and will bulge suciently underpressure to wrap the sole margins closely against the upper at the shankportion of the shoe. Moreover, the substantially rigid and inflexiblecharacter of the heel portion oi the pad prevents the sole and shoe fromtilting or rolling toward the inside of the shoe as they are sunk intothe more flexible portions of the pad by the so-attaching pressure, thisinflexible portion cooperating with the pressureapplying means to clampthe shoe upright and thus prevent it from tipping sidewise under thepressure applied to the unbalanced areas at the forepart of the shoe.

With the above and other objects and features in view the invention willnow be described in connection with the accompanying drawing andthereafter pointed out in the claims.

in the drawing,

Fig. l is a longitudinal sectional view of a pad embodying the presentinvention, the pad being mounted on a supporting structure;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the pad shown in Fig. 1 50 with portions of thesole-engaging Wall broken away;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional View taken on the line III-III of Fig2;

Fig. 4 is atop plan View of the Water bag utilized in the shank portionof the pad, the bag having a portion of its upper wall broken away;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the water bag with portions broken away;and

Fig. 6 is a detail view on an enlarged scale and partly in sectionillustrating the manner in which the seal in the water bag is securedtherein.

The illustrated sand and water pad of the present invention wasdeveloped for use in a machine of the type disclosed in an applicationfor Letters Patent of the United States, Serial No. 636,202, filed onOctober 4, 1932, in the name of Milton H. Ballard et al. The pad asherein, illustrated is mounted on a supporting structure of thecharacter disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States, No.2,017,982, granted October 22, 1935, on an application iiled in the nameof Frank R. Merritt, this structure comprising a box-like frame in whichis mounted a solid pad I of relatively firm material such as tough andresilient but by. no means rigid rubber. The upper surface of the solidpad Iii slants upwardly toward each end so that it will conform moreclosely to the longitudinal contour of a shoe bottom. Resting on theupper surface of the pad l0 is the combination sand and liquid pad l2,preferably of rubber, which embodies the subject matter of the presentinvention and which will now be described in detail. The forepart of thepad l2, as disclosed in the Ballard et al. application mentioned above,is of cellular construction with cells or compartments M extending fromthe toe end of the pad rearwardly substantially to the break or ballline. As shown in the application referred t0 the pad is provided withsixteen cells having a capacity of about one cubic inch although thenulnber and size of the cells could be varied if desired to suitdiierent conditions. The cells I4 are separated by thin rubber walls I6and, with the exception of the two cells at the opposite sides of thetoe end of the pad, are substantially cubical in shape, as shown in Fig.2, the resilient walls I6 merging into an upper wall I5 and a lower wallI1 of the pad. The cells are filled as completely as possible with arelatively fluent material I8 such as sand or some other finely dividedsolid material of such a character that, while not having all thepressure transmitting characteristics of liquid, will nevertheless flowto a considerable extent when not under pressure. After the sand isintroduced into the cells the latter are hermetically sealed so that thesand cannot escape regardless of the pressure applied to the pad.

. A sand well suited for the present purpose is disclosed in LettersPatent of the United States, No. 2,012,272, granted Aug. 2'7, 1935, uponmy application; this is natural windblown sand the grains of which runfrom about .02 to about .04 of an inch in diameter. These grains aresubstantially spherical in shape and appear when magnified to be groundrather than polished. As pointed out in the patent just mentioned, sandof this character will flow and rearrange itself freely when not underpressure but when substantial pressure is applied will become stabilizedor locked to form a substantially rigid mass. Since the amount ofinitial pressure upon the pad necessary to cause its sole-engagingsurface to conform to the contour of a shoe bottom and to set up astabilized condition in the sand is relatively slight, the sand willbecome set before sufcient pressure has been applied to cause the shoeand sole to sink any substantial distance into the sole-engaging surfaceof the pad. The sand outside the periphery of the sole, not receivingany substantial pressure, is still free to flow and arrange itselfwithout distorting the upper surface of the pad. There will be notendency, therefore, for the portions of the sole-engaging surfaceadjacent to or outside the edge of the sole to bulge and thus wrap thesole margins about the shoe upper. After the pressure on the pad isreleased the stabilized condition of the sand is disturbed by theresilient walls IS, which have been distorted under the sole-attachingpressure, and the sand is returned by these walls to its original loosecondition.

As disclosed in the Ballard et al, application referred to above, inorder to permit the pad to wrap the sole margins into close fittingrelation to the upper at the shank portion of the shoe this portion ofthe pad has a hollow or cavity 2li formed therein which is shaped toreceive a fluidlled bag 22, the bag fitting snugly into the cavity andhaving an upper wall 23 which conforms substantially to the shape of thesole-engaging wall i of the pad. The bag 22 is filled with liquid suchas water 24 and is sealed by a cylindrical plug 26, which, as shown inFig. 6, is vulcanized into the rubber material of the lower wall of thebag. The plug or seal 26 has two peripheral flanges 28 and 36 projectingtherefrom and these flanges are provided with a plurality of countersunkholes 32 into which the rubber of the bag flows when the seal is beingvulcanized thereto, thus insuring that the seal will be permanentlysecured to the bag. It will be noted in Fig. 6 that a thin layer 33 ofrubber extends across the inner side of the seal, this layer beingprovided with a hole 34 through which fluid is introduced into the bag.The hole 3d is plugged with a screw 36 which is threaded into a centralopening in the member 26, the screw bearing upon a fiber washer 38 tomake the construction water-tight.

The upper wall 23 of the bag 22, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, is providedwith a groove 4B which is arranged to receive a ridge or rib 42 (Fig. 3)projecting downwardly from the inner surface of the sole-engaging wallof the pad, the rib extending longitudinally of the shank portion of thepad substantially along its median line. The rib 42 may be about 3/8 ofan inch thick and approximately an inch in width and serves tostrengthen the pad and increase its flexibility at the shank portion.

The rear or heel portion of the pad l2, as shown in Fig. 1, is formed ofsolid material, part of which is rubber of the same character as thatforming the forepart and shank portions of the pad and the remainder ofwhich comprises a relatively rigid mass M of rubber compositionvulcanized to the relatively exible rubber referred to. The rubbercomposition da extends across the pad for the greater portion of itswidth, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and at its upper side iscovered by the flexible rubber forming the sole-engaging wall of thepad. This rubber composition may be formed by grinding fabric material,which has been impregnated or frictionized on both sides with rubber,into small pieces and then vulcanizing this ground material into asubstantially rigid mass. After it has been vulcanized the material ishard enough to withstand a substantial amount of pressure without beingcompressed or distorted any considerable amount. This material is thenvulcanized to the flexible rubber at the heel end of the pad I 2 asshown in Figs. 1 and 2 and renders this portion practically inexibleexcept for the relatively thin covering formed by the softer rubber ofthe soleengaging wall I5.

It will be seen from what has been described that the pad is soconstructed as to prevent the sole-engaging wall l5 from wrapping thesole margins about the shoe upper at the forepart and at the heel seatportion of the shoe while permitting such action to take place at theshank portion. The relatively rigid heel portion of the pad also acts toprevent tilting or rolling of the sole and shoe sidewise during theapplication of pressure thereto since it cooperates with thepressure-applying means to form a clamp for holding the shoe upright asit sinks into the more exible portions of the pad. Consequently,regardless of the greater area of the shoe bottom at the outside of theforepart the pressure thereon cannot tip the shoe sidewise because ofthe clamped condition of its heel portion.

The sole-engaging wall I5 is reinforced near but, as illustrated, not atits outer surface with a layer of fabric material such as canvas 46,this layer extending over the entire area of the soleengaging wall. Asecond layer of canvas 4 is molded into the forepart of the pad a shortdistance below the layer 46 and extends rearwardly substantially to thetip line of a shoe, indicated at A in Fig. 1, mounted in operativeposition on the pad. The layer 48 gives additional reinforcement to theforepart of the pad which is subjected to a considerable strain duringthe sole-attaching operation. These layers of canvas are firstimpregnated with rubber and are then vulcanized into the sole-engagingwall, each layer being positioned so that the warp threads extendlengthwise of the pad and the woof threads widthwise.

The rib 42, which is formed in the shank portion of the pad, permits theupper wall of the pad to stretch a limited amount at this portion sothat it will wrap the sole margins tightly about the shoe upper. Inorder to prevent the pad from blowing out at the sides and at thoseportions not engaged by the shoe bottom, the inside of the pad isreinforced at the shank portion with separate layers 50, 52 of fabricmaterial such as canvas which extend from the lower edges of the sidewalls at each side of the pad and cover the inner surfaces of thesewalls and the inner surface of the sole-engaging wall, both layersterminating at the outer edges of the rib 42, thereby leaving the lowersurface of the rib without a canvas covering. These inner layers 50, 52of reinforcing material are impregnated on one side with rubber tofacilitate their attachment by vulcanization to the inner walls of thepad. While the layer of canvas 46 is vulcanized into the soleattachingwall during the molding of the pad, the inner layers are pressed intothe cavity 2U after the pad has been molded and semi-cured so that thereis no substantial stretching or weakening of the canvas as it is beingvulcanized to the inner walls of the pad. Since the canvas on the insideof the pad does not extend across its entire width but is separated bythe rib 42, it will be seen that the shank portion of the pad canstretch somewhat when pressure is applied to the sole and shoe, thisstretching action being limited only by the canvas layer 46 which,however, does allow a certain amount of stretching to take place.

In order that the shoe and sole will rest more evenly on the pad beforethe sole-attaching pressure is applied, the outer side of the forepartof the sole-engaging wall I5 is built up slightly to form a raisedportion 54, this construction being substantially the same as thatdisclosed in the Ballard et al. ap-plication referred to above. Bysupporting the shoe in a substantially upright position before pressureis applied, the raised portion 54 cooperates with the solid heel portion44, which tends to keep the shoe from tilting widthwise on the pad, andthus causes the sole and shoe to be positioned upright as they sink intothe sole-engaging surface of the pad. The pad shown in Fig. 2 is adaptedfor operating upon a right shoe and shows the raised portion at theupper side of the forepart of the pad. A pad for a left shoe would ofcourse show the raised portion located at the opposite side of theforepart.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A pad for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms comprising acontainer having sand in its forepart and uid in its shank portion, theheel portion of said container being composed of solid material.

2. A pad for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms comprising acontainer having a cellular forepart lled with sand, a hollow shankportion filled with liquid, and a solid and relatively inflexible heelportion.

3. A rubber pad for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms having acellular forepart lled with sand, a hollow shank portion filled withfluid, and a solid rubber heel portion.

4. A pad for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms comprising aflexible member having a cellular forepart filled with sand, a hollowshank portion filled with fluid, a solid heel portion of less exibilitythan the rest of the pad, and a solid but somewhat yielding member forsupporting said flexible member.

5. A pad for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms comprising arubber member having a cellular forepart filled with sand, a hollowshank portion, a 'fluid-filled bag in said shank portion, and a solidrubber heel portion which is less flexible than said forepart and shankportions.

6. A pad for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms comprising a box,a cellular container in the box having sand in its forepart and afluid-filled bag under its shank portion, the heel portion of saidcontainer being composed of solid material which is relativelyinflexible, and a resilient member in the box for supporting saidcontainer.

7. A pad for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms comprising arubber container provided with a sole-engaging wall supported at theforepart by sand, at the shank portion by fluid and at the heel portionby rubber, the heel portion of sai-d container being relativelyinflexible so that a sole and shoe operatively positioned on said wallwill be prevented from tilting about a longitudinal axis when pressureis applied to the shoe.

8.r A pad for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms comprising acellular member the forepart of which is filled with sand, said memberhaving a hollow shank portion supported by a uid-lled bag, the heelportion of said member being composed of relatively hard rubber overlaidwith softer rubber for engaging the sole.

9. A pad for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms comprising acontainer having a flexible wall for engaging the sole of a shoe towhich pressure is to be applied, a plurality of cells filled with sandunderlying the forepart of said wall, a uid-lled bag underlying theshank portion of said wall, and substantially rigid material underlyingthe heel portion of said Wall and rendering said heel portion relativelyinflexible, thereby preventing tilting of the sole and shoe about alongitudinal axis when pressure is applied to the shoe.

10. A pad for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms having asole-engaging wall and side Walls of flexible material, saidsole-engaging wall having a rib projecting downwardly from its innerface along the median line of the pad, the inner surface of said walland each side of the rib being covered with fabric material which alsocovers the inner surfaces of the side walls, thereby reinforcing saidWalls while leaving the lower surface of the rib unreinforced sothat thematerial thereof can stretch during the application of pressure to asole and shoe.

11. A pad for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms comprising acellular member having sand in its forepart, fluid in its shank portion,and a solid and relatively inflexible heel portion, said member having asole-engaging wall for receiving the sole of a shoe to which pressure isto be applied, said wall being shaped to conform substantially to thelongitudinal contour of ashoe bottom and being reinforced adjacent toits outer surface with fabric material, said wall being also reinforcedat its shank portion with fabric secured to its inner surface.

12. A pad for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms comprising acontainer having a relatively flexible forepart filled with sand, aliquidfilled shank portion, and a solid heel portion which is lessiiexible than said forepart and said shank portion, said containerhaving a soleengaging wall and side walls of rubber, said soleengagingWall being reinforced adjacent to its outer surface with fabric materialextending over the entire area of said wall and being reinforced at itsshank portion with fabric material vulcanized to the inner surface ofsaid portion, said fabric material also extending over the inner andlower surfaces of the side walls and reinforcing said walls.

13. A pad for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms having asole-engaging wall and side walls of rubber, said sole-engaging wallbeing provided with a downwardly projecting rib extending along thelongitudinal median line of the shank portion of the pad, and the innersurface of said Wall being reinforced at said shank portion with fabricmaterial which covers the opposite sides of the rib but does not coverits lower surface, said fabric materialv also covering the innersurfaces of said sidewalls, thereby reinforcing the shank portion of thepad except in the region of the rib, stretching of Which is thuspermitted.

14. A pad for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms comprising arelatively'yielding member having a sole-engaging surface supported atthe forepart bysand, at the shank by uid, and at the heel portion bysolid material, said surface having a raised portion at the outside ofits forepart arranged to engage the forepart of a sole operativelypositioned thereon, and thereby to assist in maintaining the sole andshoe in an upright position as they are sunk into the sole-engagingsurface of the pad bythe sole-attaching pressure.

15. A pad for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms comprising arelatively yielding member having a cellular forepart filled with sand,a hollow shank portion lled with fluid, and a solid and relativelyinflexible heel portion, said member having a sole-engaging surface witha raised portion at its forepart arranged to engage the outer side ofthe forepart of a sole mounted thereon so that the sole and shoe willlbe positioned upright on the pad When pressure is applied to the shoe. v

16. A pad for use in applying pressure to she bottoms having, incombination, a continuous sole-engaging wall of relatively fiexiblematerial supported forwardlyof the break line of a shoe mounted thereonby relatively fluent material adapted to become set under pressure andthus to prevent the Wall from flexing beyond a limited amount under suchpressure, said wall being supported from the break line to the heelbreast line of the Ashoe by material which is readily displaceable underpressure, thereby permitting the entire shank portion of thesoleengaging Wall to conform to the curvature of the shank portion ofthe shoe bottom, and said wall being supported rearwardly of the heel

